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March 26, 2005
Recommended Reading
The creativity that makes Caption This! one of the funniest sites on the Internet has been applied to science fiction, and the results are highly promising. Caption This! creator V the K, writing as James Wittenbach, is the author of Meridian, the first in a planned series called Worlds Apart. The premise of the series is a perfect framework for back-to-basics space opera, complete with spaceships, heroes, and nonstop excitement. From the Worlds Apart website:
Four thousand and some odd years ago, the Human Galactic Commonwealth lay claim to 10,000 worlds. Then, something happened. The Commonwealth collapsed. Inter-stellar travel ceased. In the absence of certainty, a legend arose that the Commonwealth was destroyed by a powerful alien race humans had encountered in the course of exploring the galaxy.
For the thousand and some years since, fear and under-development kept the disparate colonies from returning to space. But now, the freedom-loving individualists of the planet Sapphire, and the socialized collectivists of Republic have combined resources to build a fleet of Pathfinder Ships, enormous and heavily-armed, to re-explore the galaxy, make contact with lost worlds, and find out the truth about what happened to the Commonwealth.
Meridian is the name of the planet where the Pathfinder Ship Pegasus encounters its first adventure — a dystopian realm that has taken central planning to extremes that would give pause to Hillary.
The writing is highly readable, shot through with the humor that makes Caption This! so enjoyable. Although the book isn't the least preachy or pretentious, it isn't vacuous either. The general point of view is libertarian. Insights unobtrusively mixed in with the action separate mere entertainment from something just as fun but more memorable. Here's a good one:
The secret of life isn't making the right decision. It's making the decision first, then making it right.
For science fiction readers, Meridian is not to be missed. For everyone else, it's a great place to start — just don't expect all science fiction to be as good as this gem.
Posted by Van Helsing at March 26, 2005 4:29 PM
Comments
The Sci Fi looks great (and if in the spirit of (a more serious and edgy) Douglas Adams, then wonderful) but OH GOD those hippie madness pix he has up now just killed me! After this horrific week I so needed the belly laugh. Thanks for posting this VH!
Posted by: The MaryHunter at March 26, 2005 6:11 PM
Not to mention, all the proceeds go to under-privileged children. Specifically, my two under-privileged children.
Posted by: V the K at March 28, 2005 8:43 AM
